Winter Springs Decides To Pay Engineer For City Building Work

October 24, 1985|By Kirsten Gallagher of The Sentinel Staff

WINTER SPRINGS — Commissioners have decided to make final payments to the developer of the new municipal complex after engineering reports showed the company is not to blame for a drainage problem in the parking lot.

The decision to grant LeCesse Corp. the remaining $85,000 of the $1.5 million contract followed an investigation by the city's consulting engineer, who said the eastern side of the building's parking lot had been built according to design.

''There is not a significant enough difference to say he didn't construct it according to plans,'' Terry Zaudtke of Conklin Porter & Holmes Engineers told commissioners at a special meeting Monday.

Zaudtke added that high water in a retention pond, which was linked to the drainage problem, is due to the groundwater table and is not responsible for the flooding.

Commissioners decided city staffers should determine how to fix the drainage problem and tell architect Don Hampton, who oversaw the construction, how much it will cost to solve the problem.

City Manager Richard Rozansky said Hampton told him repairs would cost about $11,000.

Hampton could not be reached for comment on whether he would be willing to pay for the repair work.

Hampton recently wrote the city acknowledging the drainage problem, saying LeCesse built the system according to design, and suggesting the area be rebuilt after the rainy season ends.

City attorney Frank Kruppenbacher said last week the architect is responsible for design specifications.

Instead of paying LeCesse the full $85,000, Kruppenbacher suggested the city withhold $15,000 and use it as a bargaining chip in case someone faults LeCesse for not having noticed a faulty design.